In the U.S. patent of Edmond A. Chandler and Kenelm W. Winslow U.S. Pat. No. 3,483,581 which issued Dec. 16, 1969, there is disclosed an adhesive process, particularly for attaching a tread member to a shoe, in which a thin open coherent sheet of thermoplastic synthetic polymeric resin adhesive strands is disposed on an attaching surface, the sheet and attaching surface are heated to a temperature above the activation temperature of the adhesive, and the surfaces to be joined are brought together while so heated with the adhesive sheet between them. Excellent bonds have been obtained by this process; but the process involves the need for positioning the sheet of adhesive strands on the attaching surface and of holding it in place. Also, heightwise variations of the attaching surface, for example, ridges of the shoe material at the toe portion of the bottom of a shoe upper and wrinkles or other irregularities may result in bridging of the preformed coherent sheet.
It is an object of the present invention to provide an adhesive process and apparatus by which fine filamentary thermoplastic adhesive is deposited on the attaching surface area as an adhesive band conforming to heightwise variations of the attaching surface.